Dow's Bird Photos

Nikon Z8 Review

Thursday, March 6, 2025

After months of agonizing, and (pushy) encouragement from Denny, with contributions from a couple of his photographer friends, I finally ordered a Nikon Z8 with a Nikkor 180-600mm lens to replace my failing Sony a6500. The camera arrived late this afternoon.

Thursday, May 2, 2025

As of today I've taken 3,868 photos, almost entirely of birds with the occasional mammal or scene. So far I have only processed the 80 I like most. There are more worth keeping, and this is about normal for me. Below are some of my successes. Overall, I am extremely pleased with the camera. My primary complaint with the Sony a6500, from Day 1, was that it was very difficult to focus on birds in flight. The Z8 excels at this with the continuous autofocus setting for birds. My only complaints with this system are the steep learning curve for hundreds of settings, and that it weighs 7.2 pounds, two pounds more than the Sony system, and the extra weight is a challenge for me.

Below are 30 images, in chronological order from the first day. These appeal to me for various reasons. Half are flight photos, which I doubt I could have captured with the Sony a6500. One challenge I have now is to quickly change the focus setting between flight and stationary birds. If a bird is not moving much, the autofocus has trouble figuring out just where I want to focus.

Glaucous-winged Gull, Backyard, Dungeness, WA, 3/7/2025

Cooper's Hawk, Backyard, Dungeness, WA, 3/7/2025

Common Ravens, 3 Crabs Estuary, Dungeness, WA, 3/7/2025

American Wigeon, 3 Crabs Estuary, Dungeness, WA, 3/7/2025

American Crow, 3 Crabs Estuary, Dungeness, WA, 3/8/2025

Belted Kingfisher, John Wayne Marina, Dungeness, WA, 3/10/2025

Rufous Hummingbird, Backyard, Dungeness, WA, 3/11/2025

Bald Eagle vs. American Crow, Dungeness, WA, 3/22/2025 (distance=175 yards)

Wild Turkey, Lotzgesell Road, Sequim, WA, 3/26/2025

Red-breasted Nuthatch, Towne Road Levee, Dungeness, WA, 4/2/2025

Downy Woodpecker, Towne Road Levee, Dungeness, WA, 4/2/2025

Bald Eagle, Dungeness Landing Park, Dungeness, WA, 4/8/2025

Barred Owl, Dungeness Rec Area, Sequim, WA, 4/11/2025

Pacific Wren, Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, Sequim WA, 4/12/2025

American Dipper, Dungeness River, Sequim, WA, 4/21/2025 (food for chicks)

Hairy Woodpecker, Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge, Sequim, WA, 4/23/2025

Short-eared Owl, Cays Road, Dungeness, WA, 4/23/2025

Bald Eagle, 3 Crabs Estuary, Dungeness, WA, 4/24/2025

Great Blue Heron, 3 Crabs Estuary, Dungeness, WA, 4/25/2025

Townsend's Solitaire, Towne Road Levee, Dungeness, WA, 4/25/2025

Bewick's Wren, Towne Road Levee, Dungeness, WA, 4/28/2025

Purple Martin (male), 3 Crabs Estuary, Dungeness, WA, 5/1/2025

Purple Martin (female), 3 Crabs Estuary, Dungeness, WA, 5/1/2025

Turkey Vulture, Dungeness, WA, 5/2/2025

Bird of the Day

May 2, 2025

Glaucous-winged Gull

The following images were shot with the Nikon Z8 and the Nikkor 180-600mm lens. Since my primary goal when choosing the Nikon Z8 was to get better photos of birds in flight, and one of the first images I captured was a Glaucous-winged Gull landing on the roof of our shed, followed later by many shots of gulls dropping clams on the beach, I decided to share my favorites here.

When the tide is right, the gulls can pick up clams in the shallow water. They carry them up high and drop them on the beach hoping to hit a rock that will crack them open. But there is always another gull wanting to grab the clam.

Glaucous-winged Gull, 3 Crabs Estuary, WA, 3/18/2025

Now the kid has the clam and mimics the adult's effort to crack it on the beach.

Glaucous-winged Gull, 3 Crabs Estuary, WA, 3/18/2025

Missed the rocks and landed on the sand. Repeat...repeat...repeat...

Glaucous-winged Gull, 3 Crabs Estuary, WA, 3/18/2025

Another nice morning and the gulls are still squabbling over clamming rights.

Glaucous-winged Gull, 3 Crabs Estuary, WA, 3/29/2025

This is the last in the series. The adult has the clam, drops it, the clam cracks open and the juvie gets away with it.

Glaucous-winged Gull, 3 Crabs Estuary, WA, 3/30/2025

In all of these flight shots, the camera recognized the bird and focused on the eye, moving the focus point as the bird moved. All I had to do was move the camera at the same speed to keep the gull as close to the center of the frame as possible. I am very satisfied with this feature of the Nikon Z8.